Film review: Darkest Hour (PG)

Often dubbed the best of British, there have been plenty of films about Winston Churchill over the years.

But it’s perhaps fair to say that none of them have ever measured up to a man considered (by many) to Britain’s strongest-ever Prime Minister.

Darkest Hour, headlined by a tour-de-force performance from the always excellent Gary Oldman, does its very best to change that.

Although the film starts the day before he’s appointed Prime Minister and only moves on as far as the Dunkirk evacuation (on a side note, this film unwitting serves as a great prequel to Christopher Nolan’s 2017 epic Dunkirk) around one month later, it focuses on the defining period of Churchill’s legend.

Sure, he was a larger-than-life personality and a famed speaker. But taking a stand against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, when almost everybody else felt pursuing peace was the better option, is what he’ll always be best remembered for.

Not another World War II (WW2) film, you may be thinking? But you can rest assured that Darkest Hour isn’t just any war film.

There are no battlefield shoot-outs here, only verbal showdowns in smoke-filled war rooms that shaped how Britain would approach the imminent threat of invasion.

It’s an amazing insight into a time when politicians spent their time worrying about the obliteration of their country as they knew it, rather than discussing Brexit or Tweeting about over-sized nuclear buttons.

Both informative and full of suspense, it’s a film that I’d advise everybody to watch.

Oldman is barely recognisable as Churchill, but he completely loses himself in the character as he puts in what must surely be his best-ever performance on the big screen.

Constantly chewing on a cigar, chugging Whiskey and offering iconic mannerisms, it’s a version of Oldman that you’ve never seen before.

He’s aided by a very strong supporting cast too, with Lily James a particular highlight as Churchill’s personal secretary Elizabeth Layton.

Kristin Scott Thomas is also superb as his wife Clementine, while Ben Mendelsohn (King George VI), Ronald Pickup (Neville Chamberlain) and Stephen Dillane (Viscount Halifax) all deliver memorable performances.

As with any historical movie, it is important to remember that Darkest Hour isn’t a history lesson.

We see events from a very one-sided viewpoint and with the benefit of knowing exactly how things played out in the war.

With that in mind, it does often feel like Churchill is given the last word and an element of hero-worship, which probably wouldn’t have been the case at that exact period of time.

That’s mere nit-picking, though. Director Joe Wright has served up the first great film of 2018 with a WW2 offering that stands out from a very busy crowd.

While I didn’t quite enjoy Darkest Hour as much as last year’s Dunkirk, it’s hard to compare them directly.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if Oldman is in the running for an Oscar later on this year.

Voice Verdict: 8.5/10 (reviewed at Boston’s West End Cinema)
+ Gary Oldman is amazing
+ Informative and full of suspense
+ Inspiring
– Perhaps a little one-sided

SHOWTIMES
Boston’s West End Cinema (Fri, Jan 19 to Thurs, Jan 25)

**THE POST (12A)
12.30pm (Sat/Weds), 3.30pm (daily), 6pm (daily), 8.30pm (daily)

**THE COMMUTER (15)
1pm (Sat), 3.30pm (not Sun), 6pm (daily), 8.45pm (daily)

**COCO (PG)
2D – 12.30pm (Sat/Sun), 3pm (daily), 5.30pm (daily)
3D – 10am (Sat/Sun)

**DOWNSIZING (15)
Noon (Wed), 5.45pm (Thurs)

INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (15)
8pm (daily)

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (PG)
3.30pm (daily), 6pm (not Tues/Thurs)

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (12A)
12.20pm (Sat/Sun)

FERDINAND (U)
9.45am (Sun), 10am (Sat), 11.50am (Sun)

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (12A)
12.20pm (Sat/Sun), 8.25pm (not Sun/Tues)

PADDINGTON 2 (PG)
10am (Sat/Sun)

DARKEST HOUR (PG)
12.45pm (Sun), 3pm (not Sun), 5.45pm (not Tues), 8.30pm (not Mon)

KIDS’ CLUB
10.15am Sat/Sun  – The Nut Job 2 (U)

SILVER SCREEN
Wed 11.30am – Darkest Hour (PG)

SUBTITLED SHOWING
Mon 8.20pm – Darkest Hour (PG)

**FREE LIST SUSPENDED